Suddenly aware that their house resets itself every time she tries to make a change or leave, a jaded housewife fights to awaken her husband from a mysterious trance so they can outsmart the house and escape before they forget who they really are and get stuck in an unchanging scene forever.

SYNOPSIS:

ACT I

EM MICHAELS and RORRI MICHAELS' relationship is everything their parents taught them to expect in a marriage. Em keeps the house (and her makeup and outfit) immaculate, Rorri goes to work each day, and they both know their roles and routines in one another’s lives. Their daily dialogue is dry and redundant, their outfits and interior design reminiscent of the early to mid 1900s, and their sexual chemistry seems to have died long ago. Even the weather where they live is uneventful: always sunny with no signs of wildlife.

One night, a surprise thunderstorm hits Em and Rorri’s house. Em is startled awake to see a mysterious child (LILY) and her friend (CHASE) standing in the bedroom. Em tries to chase the children but struggles to walk and speak, her body unaccustomed to movements outside of the normal, engrained routine. She tries to wake her husband, but he remains soundly asleep.

The children encourage Em to leave the house, but she will not (or cannot?) leave the bottom step of the back porch. She panics and retreats back into the safety of her house.

ACT II

Lily (the young girl) helps Em awaken to the fact that she and her husband are caught in a repeating scene, only he's still entranced by it. The harder Em tries to wake him up, the further away he seems to get. Em becomes conscious of her long-held resentment toward Rorri as she blames him for their situation. No matter what she does, some force holds her hostage in the house, stuck in the daily housewife outfit and routine.

Em finds a cryptic clue in her handwriting. She seeks help from Lily, who speaks in infuriating riddles that Em becomes committed to solve, desperate to make lasting change and escape the house once and for all. As she deciphers the riddles and clues, self-awareness grows and Em begins to take responsibility for keeping herself stuck. She learns to be gentle and embrace herself beneath the makeup and housewife attire, and changes start to stick. She starts to awaken to who she really is outside of her own inherited and self-imposed story lines about herself, about her relationship, about beauty, and more.

In response to Em's gentleness and awakening, a locked cellar door appears in their kitchen floor and Rorri awakens from his trance. She learns an unfortunate truth: her husband likes their routine and has no interest in leaving. Em finally breaks free from the house and runs naked in the rain through the neighborhood, unhinged and desperate to escape. The houses become less detailed as she gets further from their home. There's no one else in the neighborhood. Realizing there is no escape, Em breaks down.

ACT III

Detached and depressed, Em crawls into bed. The children find a way into her dreams and combine efforts with other dream archetypes (WISE MAN and WILD WOMAN) to show Em the truth about the house: it's a physical representation of her and Rorri's relationship, a blend of their subconscious beliefs about themselves and relationships overall. Em is visually living out the experience of a spiritual and emotional awakening. She realizes that Lily is a representation of her inner child and Chase is Rorri's inner child, but Rorri can't see the children. He's not yet ready for that part of his emotional and spiritual journey.

Em surrenders the idea of forcing any change on herself, her husband, or the house. She writes and hides clues for her future self, hoping to help her next awakening be easier. This relaxation seems to be the key to the cellar door, which suddenly unlocks. Rorri doesn’t want to explore the house any further than he already has. He loves the daily routine as it is, but he wants to embrace his wife’s growth and curiosity rather than hold her back. After a loving embrace, Em enters the cellar to explore the deeper, darker parts of the house, unsure if or when she'll see her husband again.

Shortly after Em leaves for her journey, Rorri hears a knock on the window. When he goes to investigate, he sees Chase. Now, it's Rorri's turn for a spiritual awakening.

END OF SCENE